Personal expenses on the procurement card are in violation of the procurement card program
Repeated occurrences, even if repaid, are reviewed and may result in card revocation and/or disciplinary action.

Keep Business and Personal Online Accounts separate to avoid personal purchases posting to the procurement card
It is recommended to keep UI business accounts separate from your personal accounts with online vendors such as Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, etc. Keeping them separate will ensure the procurement card is not inadvertently used for personal purchases and that the items you order are sent to a UI billing address and not your home.

TRAVEL POLICY UPDATES-

Reimbursement for Meals while in Travel StatusWhen meals are provided as part of the conference or meeting, travelers will not be reimbursed for the cost of the meal when the traveler chooses to eat outside the conference.

Travel expense vouchers (TEVs) must be submitted within 120 days of trip end date. Travel expenses will not be reimbursed if the TEVs are not submitted within this time frame. Exceptions to this policy must be justified and approved by the Travel Office

If a travel expense voucher has been identified as 120 days past the trip end date and at least one out of pocket expense has been claimed, ProTrav will require justification for reimbursement before the trip may be routed or approved in Workflow. The Accounts Payable office will review justification to determine if reimbursement will be allowed. If deemed reimbursable, per IRS guidelines, the reimbursement will be taxable to the traveler.

Notifications will generate from ProTrav to the traveler if a trip end date has passed by 30 days. It will state the trip has ended 30 days ago, please claim out of pocket expenses if needed. If there is nothing to be reimbursed, there is nothing more to be done.

Reporting features have been added allowing users with access to trips to view Travel Expense vouchers older than 100 days after the trip is complete. The report searches for any unpaid Travel Expense vouchers with at least one out of pocket expense listed. The user may search for trip return dates 100 days-365 days old from the date the report is run. The results provide the user with information regarding the status of the voucher for UI employees and may be exported to Excel.

Steps/Questions to ask to determine if a procurement card transaction
posted to your procurement card may be considered fraud;

Does the transaction seem to have any business related relationship
with the University of Iowa?

Confirm with others in the department whom you may process
transactions on their behalf.

If the vendor is not recognized or unaccounted for in the department
the cardholder should immediately follow the steps below.

Contact US Bank by calling the number on the back of pcard
- 1-800-523-9078

Explain that you have an UNAUTHORIZED transaction on your
card. This will alert the bank to start a fraud case for your
card.

List the vendors/transactions potentially defined as fraud.

Contact ProTrav either by email (protrav@uiowa.edu)
or phone 335-0115 to report the potential fraud on your account.
Card will be cancelled in ProTrav.

Once this information is received, you will be sent a fraud
checklist to ensure all steps are completed for this process.

Cut your card in half and send it to Quality Assurance 202
PCO

Disputes:

Steps/Questions to ask to determine if a procurement card transaction
posted to your card may need to be disputed with US Bank;

Does the transaction seem to have any business related relationship
with the University of Iowa?

Confirm with others in the department whom you may process
transactions on their behalf.

Instances which can typically be resolved through vendor communication
include:

Incorrect or duplicate charges

Sales tax charges

Unknown charge to vendor with existing business relationship
and no documentation available

A dispute does not need to be initiated if the vendor agrees to
resolve the transaction satisfactorily (e.g. agrees to credit the
incorrect charge or sales tax, or provide the invoice for an unknown
charge). For the Procurement Card Voucher and audit purposes, simply
note the situation either in the PCV line comments or with an attachment
(e.g. “duplicate vendor billing, will credit within 3-5 business
days” would be sufficient for line comments).

A dispute is initiated if the vendor is unwilling or unable to
resolve the situation. A dispute form is completed from the Reconciliation
screen in ProTrav. By checking Dispute on the line reconciliation,
ProTrav will take you to another window for you to enter the remaining
required information on the form. Once the form is completed,
Download and print the form. Complete the form by adding the 16
digit credit card number and then sign the form before you fax
it to the card provider. The fax number is at the top of the printable
dispute form.

Once the bank receives the Dispute form, they should send you
a letter explaining they are processing your dispute request, if
any additional information is needed, they will ask that you fill
out some paperwork. Otherwise, they will give you a temporary
credit on your account while they work with the vendor. If you
do not receive any correspondence from the bank within 2 weeks
of faxing the paperwork, you will want to call the dispute department
to ensure they did receive your form. Their number is 1-866-540-9904.

If unsure whether a transaction should be disputed or considered
fraudulent, send an email to ProTrav@uiowa.edu with
the cardholder name, Procurement Card Voucher, (e.g. P0123456) transaction
information, and a brief description of the situation. The information
will be reviewed and a determination provided on how to best proceed.

Edition 3 - Vol. 1

Purchasing airfare with personal legs of travel when traveling
in UI business

If you are booking your flight to travel on business for the University
of Iowa and wish to incorporate personal travel with the trip,
you will need to purchase airfare using personal funds. You will
be reimbursed for the business portion of the trip once the trip
is complete.

At the time you book your flight, please obtain a quote of what
the business portion of the flight would have cost if it were round
trip and only for the actual dates you would have traveled to the
business related site(s).

If airfare is paid utilizing the procurement card and not personal
funds, the traveler is required to repay the entire airfare expense
to the University of Iowa. Once the trip has taken place the traveler
may request reimbursement on their Travel Expense Voucher for the
business portion of the expense.

Receipt Requirement for Purchases on Procurement Card.

For most procurement card purchases, supporting documentation
is required to be electronically attached to the voucher. There
are only two exceptions to this rule:
Individual meal while in travel status as long as the meal is under
$75.00
Fed Ex and UPS charges where the account is set up through the
Accounts Payable office and the appropriate shipping information
displays when you click on the Trans Detail button.

Software Acquisition Process

If there is a need in your department to purchase software, you
are required to contact ITS.

Here are some facts that we should all be aware of when acquiring
software.

Fact #2: The only person who has authority to sign or authorize
these agreements is the UI Director of Purchasing. The Director
of Purchasing consults with the Office of the General Counsel before
signing these agreements to ensure the interests of The University
of Iowa are covered. Generally, individuals, including managers,
department heads or deans, do not have proper signature authority
to sign and execute contracts on behalf of the University.

To avoid institutional and/or personal liability, license agreements
should be evaluated and reviewed from a legal perspective before
acceptance. If you sign an agreement, click “I agree”, or agree
to terms in any fashion, regardless of cost (including free web
downloads), without this evaluation and proper signature process,
you may be assuming personal and institutional liability. The potential
ramifications include personal financial exposure, disciplinary
action, and/or criminal liability.

ITS, with the assistance of the Office of General Counsel and the
UI Department of Purchasing, has implemented the Software Acquisition
Process to help software users on campus obtain the best pricing
and best terms possible. It is important to start conversations
with your college or department to define how you acquire software
and to contact us so that we can help reduce risks to you, your
department and the University.

It will now be known as Quality Assurance Team. The mission of
the Quality Assurance Team is to review and assess the ProTrav
program and provide recommendations to maintain and improve the
security and financial integrity of the program. The Quality Assurance
Team provides analysis and guidance through periodic reports and
reviews, based on the policies and regulations set forth by the
University of Iowa Operations Manual and State Board of Regents.

New and Improved functions released to ProTrav 2/3/09

Based upon the results of a recent systems survey, and requests
from ProTrav users, this upgrade includes improved functionality,
new search abilities, data links, improved access requests and
much more.

Disputed Transactions

PLEASE NOTE:

US Bank will initiate the dispute process by contacting the
vendor’s bank to obtain the requested information. They will
generally send you a letter stating they are working on your
dispute request.

If you don’t hear anything from US Bank, it is your responsibility
as the cardholder to contact US Bank and check on the status
of your dispute. There are instances where you may have faxed
the form, but it never made it to US Bank.

If the dispute is resolved in favor of the cardholder, a credit
will be applied to the account.

If the dispute is resolved in favor of the vendor, US Bank
will forward supporting documentation to the cardholder, which
must be submitted to the Accounts Payable department to be filed
with the original charge.

The dispute should be resolved within two billing cycle.

The Cardholder is responsible to pursue the resolution.

Edition 2 - Vol. 2

2Time Table for Year End Processes

ProTrav Travel Vouchers: Travel Expense vouchers to be recorded
in FY 08-09 for travel completed prior to June 1 should be in the
Accounts Payable and Travel Department by June 8; this includes
e-vouchers for travel. Please keep in mind that it takes several
days for a voucher to move through all the channels of approval
and arrive for processing. Therefore, for travel already ended,
this process should be started immediately. For travel ending after
June 1, the voucher should be submitted immediately upon return
if it is to be processed this fiscal year. Unless travel is occurring
in the last week of June, all vouchers that must be processed this
fiscal year should be in the Accounts Payable and Travel Office
no later than June 15. For travel occurring after June 15, all
vouchers that must be processed for this fiscal year must be
complete thru workflow and all required documentation submitted
to the Accounts Payable and Travel Department no later than 4:30
p.m., June 29, 2009. Questions concerning these
dates may be directed to the Accounts Payable and Travel Department,
Karen Housel at 5-0409.

Procurement Card Vouchers:

The June billing cycle has been modified in order to accommodate
fiscal year spending.
Modified billing cycles:

June billing cycle: 05/28/09-06/15/09

July billing cycle: 06/16/09–07/27/09

Procurement card transactions that have a POST date on or before
06/15/09 will be processed within FY 08-09. Note: Post
date is often days later than the actual transaction date. It's
the departments/cardholders responsibility to be sure they are
monitoring their account to be sure transactions that need to post
to this current fiscal year appear on their Procurement Card Statement
on or before 06/15/09.

June Procurement Card Vouchers complete (approved through
workflow) by 06/30/09 will post to the accounts (Master
File Keys) listed on the voucher.

Procurement Card Vouchers not complete (still in workflow,
voucher has an audit error, or voucher not reconciled) by
6/30/09 will post to the cardholders’ "default" account.
The default entry can be reversed up until July 14, 09 once the
voucher has been approved in workflow and approved by the Accounts
Payable Department.

Single Transaction for Procurement Cards Remain at $3,000.00

February 27, 2009 an announcement was sent to Requesters explaining
the Purchase Requisitions workflow form Types Changes. This announcement
and change in the way a Requisition is approved did not affect the
single transaction limits on the Procurement Card. The limits on
the cards remain the same 10k credit and 3k single transaction.

Edition 2 - Vol. 1

Expiring Cards Training Update

In keeping with industry standards and program policy, all UI
cardholders are required to complete Procurement Card training
once every three years. This is to ensure all UI cardholders are
kept informed of updated or changed policy. The date required
to complete training coincides with the month and year in which
your card expires.

Complete all three sections: Buyer's Perspective, Fundamentals,
and Travel

PLEASE NOTE: If you exit ICON before completing the course,
you may re-access the course through Self Service from the Personal tab
by clicking the My Training link, and looking
under ICON Courses Currently Enrolled In.

If the refresher course is not completed by the end of the month
your card expires, your purchasing privileges may be suspended
until course completion.

Reminders will be sent to cardholders well in advance of card
expiration to allow adequate time for course completion.

Univ. of Iowa Procurement Card Activation Instructions

Procurement cards are set to expire 3 years from the issue month.
During the month in which your card expires, a replacement card
will be mailed directly to you from the card provider.
Once your card is received, please complete the steps below to
activate the card and dispose of the old card.
Activate your new card by calling the number on the activation
sticker affixed to the front of the card. An automated activation
line prompts you to enter the following information:

The 16-digit credit card number

Last 4 digits of your University ID

IMPORTANT: To protect employee social
security numbers, the University of Iowa arranged with US Bank
to use University ID numbers for card activation. Your social security
number will not work. You will automatically be prompted
for your social security number, enter the last 4 digits of your
University ID number instead. Your University ID is found
on the front or back side of your UI identification card, depending
when the card was issued. Your University ID is also located in
ProTrav. Under the PCard tab, navigate to the My Cards section,
locate your name and click the “+” to expand available options.
Click the Account Info link to display your University ID.

Card zip code and your office phone number

NOTE: The zip code is located on the
tri-fold sheet your Procurement Card is attached to. You can also
find this address in ProTrav, under the PCard tab navigate to the
My Cards section, locate your name and click the “+” to expand
available options. Click the Account Info link to display the zip
code and office phone number associated with your Procurement Card.
You will need this address for online and phone purchases.

Once your new card is activated, cut your old card in half and campus
mail to 202 PCO, attn Quality Assurance Team.

Edition 1 - Vol. 1

Procurement card transactions post to ProTrav on a daily basis.
Cardholders/reconcilers are encouraged to view and/or reconcile
charges regularly. This routine process will speed
up the month end process and will aide in the detection of potential
fraud. Note Procurement Card Vouchers are due in the Accounts
Payable office on the 18th of every month.

UI employees can receive travel payments more quickly and help
the University reduce costs by electing to receive all travel
payments by direct deposit. If your payroll
is direct deposited, travel payments will be sent to the same
account. To direct travel payments to a different account or
to set up direct deposit click here.
Click the “Direct Deposit” link under the Payroll tab on the
“My Information” page.

An acceptable receipt must include the vendor
name, what was purchased, the date of the purchase and the dollar
amount.

If receipts contain the UI procurement card number on them
the user should black out the middle set of digits. This will
protect the card number but will still allow our office to determine
that it’s a UI card. This should be done whether you are scanning
receipts or sending the actual receipt with your voucher.

For file size and storage reasons, the best format
to scan receipts isPDF, but other
formats are acceptable.

The traveler/department can check the status of a Travel
ExpenseVoucher online. Click here for
simple instructions.

Once final reimbursement is made to the traveler,
the trip owner can “close” the trip in ProTrav in order to keep
the trip manager more manageable. This can be done by clicking
on the “hide trip” button on the trip manager.

Phone numbers for vendors are often provided on
the PCard transactions page under the city heading.

If a trip has already been created for specific individual/destination/date,
you should not create another trip. If you
need to reconcile, add expenses or additional funding, and do
not have access to the trip, please email protrav@uiowa.edu.
Provide the following information; traveler’s name, dates of
travel and destination, and reason that you need access. You
will be contacted once we have granted you the access you need.

Amazon Prime

University policy prohibits the use of rewards programs for purchase because there is a potential for using rewards points for personal purchases. Because there is not a way to monitor such rewards in a way that is cost effective, the University's policy is that we should not participate in these programs. The purchase of an Amazon Prime membership falls under rewards programs and is not an allowable expense because this membership is not limited to UI business only and can be used for personal purchases.

Beware of Office Supply Phone Scam

Reports of a new office supply phone scam have come to our attention.

The caller provides a company name and location based within the state
of Iowa (e.g. Mason Industries out of Cedar Rapids) and that they are in
the process of moving out of state and changing company names (SVT Inc.
has frequently been provided as the new name).

The caller states co-workers they’ve spoken to within your office, and
lists basic office supplies available for ordering: pens, post it notes,
highlighters, etc. The caller states attractive prices for the office
supplies and asks for your Procurement Card number to charge the supplies
once they ship your order.

Remember to exercise caution when doing business with any new company
or individual. If prices seem too good to be true, they probably are. Do
not provide your Procurement Card number if you’re not familiar with a
company or feel unsure about a transaction. Additionally, the University
of Iowa has a preferred vendor contract with Office Max for all office
supply purchases.

Please keep this in mind if you receive a similar type of call or solicitation. ↑top

Expiring Cards

In keeping with industry standards and program policy, all UI cardholders
are required to complete Procurement Card training once every three years.
This is to ensure all UI cardholders are kept informed of updated or changed
policy. The date required to complete training coincides with the month and
year in which your card expires.

Complete the three sections: Buyer’s Perspective, Fundamentals, and Travel, or the 4th section Reconciliation, depending on the course selected

Please note: If you exit ICON before completing the course, you may re-access the course by logging back into My Training and looking under Currently Enrolled Courses.

If the refresher course is not completed by the end of the month your card
expires, your purchasing privileges may be suspended until course completion.
Reminders will be sent to cardholders well in advance of card expiration
to allow adequate time for course completion. ↑top

Replacement/Activation Information

Univ. of Iowa Procurement Card Activation Instructions

Procurement cards are set to expire 3 years from the issue month. During
the month in which your card expires, a replacement card will be mailed directly
to you from the card provider.

Once your card is received, please complete the steps below to activate the
card and dispose of the old card.
Activate your new card by calling the number on the activation sticker affixed
to the front of the card. An automated activation line prompts you to enter
the following information:

The 16-digit credit card number

Last 4 digits of your University ID

IMPORTANT: To protect employee social security numbers,
the University of Iowa arranged with US Bank to use University ID numbers for
card activation. Your social security number will not work. You will
automatically be prompted for your social security number, enter the last 4
digits of your University ID number instead. Your University ID is
found on the front or back side of your UI identification card, depending when
the card was issued. Your University ID is also located in ProTrav. Under the
PCard tab, navigate to the My Cards section, locate your name and click the
“+” to expand available options. Click the Account Info link to display your
University ID.

Card zip code and your office phone number

NOTE: The zip code is located on the tri‐fold sheet your
Procurement Card is attached to. You can also find this address in ProTrav,
under the PCard tab navigate to the My Cards section, locate your name and
click the “+” to expand available options. Click the Account Info link to
display the zip code and office phone number associated with your Procurement
Card. You will need this address for online and phone purchases.

If you must fax your University credit
card number (for payment or if you are disputing a charge), make sure your
University credit card number is blacked out on the paper after you have
completed the fax.

These steps will reduce the possibility of exposure of
sensitive information. Protecting your University credit card number as well
as other sensitive information will help limit the University’s liability
and reduce the chance of fraud or identity theft. ↑top